Department of Public Safety Commissioner Anthony Macaranas, right, and Assistant Chief of Police and acting DPS Public Information Officer Simon Manacop conduct a press conference Friday morning.
AN unlicensed diving operator fled the CNMI after a 40-year-old Chinese tourist drowned at the Laulau Bay dive site on May 17, the Department of Public Safety said.
At a press conference on Friday, DPS Commissioner Anthony Macaranas identified the diving operator as Qi Wei Shi.
“Based on the investigation, it was revealed that the diving instructor/company who was hired for the diving activity had fled the CNMI the next day,” Macaranas said. “Mr. Shi and his whole family cleaned up their place and packed their stuff up and took his family back home. Right now, they are back in China,” he added.
According to the DPS commissioner, “the diving operator was operating illegally.”
“Mr. Shi is not a certified diving instructor and has no knowledge about diving,” Macaranas added.
“Investigators are currently looking into the diving equipment and the individuals connected to the diving operation. They are being closely monitored,” he said.
The victim arrived at the dive site at about 4:30 p.m. along with a female companion and two dive operators, who were hired by the victim and his female companion, DPS stated.
“The dive instructor had noted nothing unusual with the victim during their initial dive,” Assistant Chief of Police and acting DPS Public Information Officer Simon Manacop said. “They had all descended to a depth of 12 meters and slowly made their way back to shallow water. As they all approached the reef line, the victim was observed ascending to the surface and descending back to the ocean floor, repeatedly. The instructor and the victim [were] along the reef line, described as chest high in water level. But due to the waves, they both continued to use their regulators,” Manacop said.
“[The] victim was later observed panicking as he repeatedly waved his arms. The victim’s air gauge read 0 psi and he was immediately offered a secondary regulator, which he refused [as he] continued to panic. The victim was then escorted back to shore where the instructor noticed that the victim was unconscious and immediately yelled for help. Shortly after, CPR was conducted until [the] medics arrived,” Manacop said.
The victim was transported to the Commonwealth Health Center where he was pronounced dead at 7:29 p.m. due to drowning, DPS said.
Macaranas said, “DPS investigators have recovered the diving equipment used in the incident and it is undergoing forensic examination. Investigators have also recovered GoPro photos. The GoPro equipment was found attached to the diving equipment.”
The case is treated as a drowning incident until there is an alternative determination to change its status, Macaranas added.
He said establishments that are operating illegally without permits and licenses should “do the right thing because harsher penalties can be imposed on illegal operators.”
More information will be made available to the public as the investigation into the drowning incident progresses, Macaranas added.
It was the second drowning incident reported by DPS this year. The first occurred on Jan. 3, 2024 when a 22-year-old man drowned while spearfishing off Hidden Beach.
